MINISTER SISULU ARRIVES IN MOSCOW TO STRENGTHEN TRADE AND DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, has arrived in Moscow in the Russian Federation for a Working Visit where she will co-chair the 15th Session of the annual South Africa-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Co-operation (ITEC) with the Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, H.E. Dmitry Kobylkin.

The one-day 15th ITEC Meeting takes place tomorrow, 21 November 2018, as a result of a bilateral agreement that was signed in 1999 and revived in 2002 with the objective of broadening and deepening relations between the two countries.

The 15th ITEC Meeting will focus on investment, trade, banking cooperation, mineral resources, agriculture, justice, forestry and fisheries, water resources, science, technology and space, as well as higher education.

The main focus of the South African delegation is to build partnership and identify investment opportunities to grow the country’s economy and create jobs.

“We are putting all our efforts in supporting President Ramaphosa’s investment drive to reach a target of $100bn as soon as possible. Russia and South Africa has deep diplomatic and historic ties. We believe there is more that can be done in trade; we can export a number of our agricultural products. We can also build partnerships on water and agricultural technology, and education and skills development,” said Sisulu.

On the margins of the recently held 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, the two countries (South Africa and Russia) signed two agreements/memoranda on co-operation in the fields of agriculture and water resources.

During her Working Visit, Minister Sisulu is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with her counterpart, H.E. Mr Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Minister Sisulu will also lay wreaths at the Cenotaphs of the late veterans and freedom fighters, Mr Moses Kotane and Mr JB Marks. The two heroes were buried in Moscow and had since been repatriated and reburied in South Africa.

Before departing for South Africa, Minister Sisulu will also deliver a lecture on South Africa’s foreign policy at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

Minister Sisulu is accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Bulelani Magwanishe, and senior officials from the Departments of Trade and Industry, Mineral Resources, Science and Technology, Water and Sanitation, Communications, Transport, Justice, and Mineral Resources.